


Insomnia seems quite common these days

by TheFaultInOurHeads



Category: NCIS
Genre: M/M, McNozzo - Freeform, Oneshot, Outing, Romance, Slash, h/c, team friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-24
Updated: 2014-10-24
Packaged: 2018-02-22 11:09:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,654
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2505623
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheFaultInOurHeads/pseuds/TheFaultInOurHeads
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><em>Gibbs had to admit that he was a little surprised to find two of his agents at the Navy Yard together at this time of night.</em><br/>In which their workplace becomes a refuge for two insomniacs and one sympathizer.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Insomnia seems quite common these days

Gibbs arrived at the Navy Yard at about three o’clock in the morning. He hadn’t been able to sleep because he kept mulling over the team’s latest case in his head, and tonight, working on his boat hadn’t been nearly enough to quiet his mind. Something their last suspect said didn’t sit right with him, but he couldn’t really put his finger on it. Gibbs was aching to find out what caused this latest gut feeling and as it was, he thought he might as well get some work done, despite of being tired.

Gibbs enjoyed the rather quiet and peaceful atmosphere that nighttime brought to his workplace. The night security guard simply gave him a nod and didn’t ask any questions, and walking through the building without the usual buzz of noise around him made him feel strangely at ease.  
Upon arriving at the elevator doors, Gibbs decided that its loud rumbling and whirring would disturb the silence too much for his liking, and so he went for the stairs instead.

Arriving at the right floor, he came to a halt before turning the corner into the bullpen, as he noticed the light of a desk lamp only barely lighting the squad room. It was obvious that, unexpectedly, someone else had come into work at this time of night, and since Gibbs wasn’t really in the mood for company, he didn’t make himself known just yet. The prospect of having to explain himself to a curious coworker was less than appealing, and conflicted with his desire to concentrate on the case without being disturbed. He contemplated turning around and leaving, when he heard a familiar voice.

“I’m not even sure how this is supposed to help.”

Gibbs’ attention shifted back to the room. Those were definitely McGee’s words, and the fact that he was talking aloud suggested there was someone else in the squad room with him. Sure enough, a second later Gibbs heard DiNozzo’s voice give a hushed answer. Gibbs had to admit that he was a little surprised to find two of his agents at the Navy Yard together at this time of night. Still uncertain about what he wanted to do now, he just stayed in place, listening.

“Don’t you think distracting yourself with some work is better than lying in bed without actually being able to sleep all night?” he heard Tony saying.

“Yeah, well, but dragging you here with me isn’t going to help either of us in the morning. Two tired agents are worse than just one, I should have let you sleep.”

“Tim, I already told you I don’t mind. Look, the more work we get done now, the earlier we might catch a break tomorrow, and then you can try again with the whole sleep thing.”

“As if that’s going to turn out better than the last three nights.” Tim muttered under his breath. “I shouldn’t have these sleeping troubles in the first place, I don’t think they’ll just go away once the case is closed.”

Gibbs didn’t like what he was hearing. Hadn’t McGee slept properly since the beginning of the week? It would explain his distracted behavior the day before, but it hadn’t impacted his work much, so Gibbs had decided to let it slide. Now he wasn’t sure whether to silently applaud Tony for supporting his teammate, or to be annoyed at the fact that he would have to deal with two sleep-deprived subordinates in the morning. Then again, he wasn’t really one to talk right now, given his own situation.

“We all have nights like these, McInsomniac. Just because you’ve had nightmares a few nights in a row, doesn’t mean they won’t go away just as quickly as they came.” Tony said, a reassuring tone in his voice. “They tend to come with this job just like everything else, you should have noticed by now.” he added as an afterthought.

Tim sighed. “I have. Doesn’t mean I have to like it, though.”

“True, Probie.” DiNozzo’s tone was suddenly chipper. “That’s why I’m here, putting you out of your misery with my charm and the full force of my patented, absolutely infallible consoling techniques.”

Gibbs could make out McGee snorting lightly, but that didn’t stop Tony in his tracks, even though he got a little quieter again and his voice audibly softened.

“Tell you what, McGrouchy. As soon as this case is over, I will treat you to a nice evening, dinner and a movie of your choice included, and a massage, if you’d like. We’ll get you relaxed and comfortable, and then nothing should stand in the way of a good night’s sleep, right? How does that sound?”

Gibbs was asking himself the same question. He wasn’t sure if he had heard correctly. Had Tony just promised McGee a massage? Normally, Gibbs would have dismissed it as one of DiNozzo’s jokes, but Tony completely lacked his usual teasing tone. He wasn’t sure what to make of it, especially since he wasn’t able to fully understand McGee’s murmured answer, only hearing something that sounded like “good”, and then undefined syllables in a muffled voice. Then, the room fell silent.

Something told Gibbs that he should take this as his cue to leave, but he couldn’t bring himself to walk back down the stairs. After all, he still wanted to get some work done, and it wasn’t much like him to change his plans just because he might have been intruding on somebody’s privacy. He took a few steps further into the room, unnoticed by the two agents because he was still hidden by the nightly shadows. 

Now that he could actually see the squad room, Gibbs noticed that the dim light was emitted from a single desk lamp, Tony’s, to be exact. DiNozzo and McGee both sat behind Tony’s desk, apparently looking at the computer screen. At second glance, though, he noticed that the two of them weren’t just huddled close together to both get a good view of the monitor. In fact, Tim seemed to have his eyes closed, and Tony didn’t pay attention to his surroundings at all, just glancing at his teammate with a fond expression on his face. 

With his eyes slowly adjusting to the light, allowing him to see more than just his agents’ faces that were lit up by the computer screen, Gibbs realized that Tony had his arm slung around Tim, and the latter was positively resting his head on the older agent’s shoulder, halfway on his chest. Tony was running a hand through Tim’s hair, which, as opposed to his usual hair ruffling, seemed like a very intimate gesture.

Gibbs almost took a step back again, suddenly not sure what exactly he was intruding on. He had never seen those two display affection for each other like that, and it slowly dawned on him that there might be a good reason for that fact.  
His first instinct was to push those thoughts away, determined not to care and, more importantly, not to make assumptions without any solid evidence. Unfortunately, that was easier said than done when DiNozzo and McGee were practically cuddling right before his eyes. Still, he wouldn’t jump to conclusions. Could he really have missed two people he worked with this closely developing the kind of relationship he suspected upon seeing them like this?

Tony whispered something that Gibbs couldn’t make out, but he could see a slight smile playing on McGee’s lips. Then, Tony dropped a light kiss onto Tim’s head, and just like that, Gibbs’ suspicions were confirmed. Tony moved slightly to kiss Tim’s temple, and Tim leaned into the touch, eyes still closed, looking content.

This certainly wasn’t how he had expected the night to go. Gibbs felt like he should be more surprised, but oddly, he felt another wave of peace wash over him, like when he had arrived at the silent Navy Yard just a few minutes ago. He ought to be annoyed, maybe even angry with them for breaking one of his rules, but standing there and just looking at them, he didn’t feel the need to. DiNozzo’s and McGee’s body language told him that their affection wasn’t exactly a new development, and the fact that he hadn’t noticed it before meant that they were both apt at separating it from work. To be honest, he hadn’t expected either of them to ever fall for a man, much less each other, and the thought took some getting used to, but he couldn’t say he minded. He might have even felt a sudden wave of something akin to pride, seeing the boys so at ease with each other, not that he would have admitted to that.

As he now fully understood the situation, Gibbs decided to make his presence known as unobtrusively as possible. He cleared his throat almost inaudibly, but it was enough for Tony and Tim to snap out of their silent embrace. Walking over to his own desk, Gibbs allowed himself to flash a small smile at the two of them, before talking in a low voice.

“Don’t stop on my account. Whatever makes you happy, I don’t care as long as it stays out of work.” 

He started his computer and noticed Tim raising his eyebrows, while Tony seemed a little confused. 

“And since neither of us are actually supposed to be here right now, this doesn’t count.” he added, fighting another smile as Tony visibly relaxed.

McGee seemed too tired to care about their boss’ presence and simply dropped his head back onto Tony’s chest, tugging the other man close. Tony glanced at Gibbs with a hint of insecurity, but Gibbs pointedly ignored him until he finally draped his right arm around his partner again, his thumb moving in circles on Tim’s biceps.

“Thanks, Boss.” he murmured, and Gibbs gave him a slight nod. He liked seeing his boys happy, after all.


End file.
